May  Catholics  Be  Masons? 

By 

JOSEPH  I.  MALLOY,  C.S.P. 


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zMay  Catholics  Be  S Masons ? 

Rev.  Joseph  I.  Malloy,  C.S.P. 

REEMASONRY,  as  we  know  it,  began  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
first  Grand  Lodge  was  organized  in  England 
in  1717.  Twenty-one  years  later  Pope  Clem- 
ent XII.  issued  a Bull  of  excommunication 
l “The  Condemnation  of  the  Society  of  Con- 
venticles de  Liberi  Muratori,  or  of  the  Freemasons.”  1 
The  reasons  for  the  condemnation  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 

(1)  Freemasonry  has  a peculiar  “unsectarian,” 
naturalistic  character,  by  which  theoretically  and 
practically  it  undermines  the  Christian  faith,  first  in 
its  members  and  through  them  in  the  rest  of  society, 
creating  religious  indifferentism  and  contempt  for 
orthodoxy  and  ecclesiastical  authority. 

(2)  The  inscrutable  secrecy,  and  the  oaths  of 
secrecy  and  fidelity  to  Masonry  and  Masonic  work, 
cannot  be  justified  in  their  scope,  their  object,  or  their 
form,  and  cannot,  therefore,  induce  any  obligation. 

(3)  Such  societies  involve  a grave  danger  for 
the  security  and  tranquillity  of  the  state  and  for  the 
spiritual  health  of  souls. 

From  the  time  of  Clement  XII.  seven  Supreme 
Pontiffs  of  the  Catholic  Church  have  repeated  the 
condemnation  of  Freemasonry  for  substantially  the 
same  reasons.2 

i“Bull’*  is  the  name  of  a particular  kind  of  Papal  document,  so- 
called  from  the  “bulla**  or  seal  affixed  thereto. 

2See  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  art.  “Masonry,**  vol.  ix.,  pp.  786,  787, 
for  names  of  these  Popes,  names  and  dates  of  the  condemnations,  and 
summary  of  the  reasons. 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


It  is  the  purpose  of  this  pamphlet  to  show  that 
the  objections  made  to  Freemasonry  nearly  200  years 
ago  by  Pope  Clement  XII.  still  hold  at  the  present 
day.  As  Catholics  were  forbidden  under  pain  of  ex- 
communication  to  affiliate  themselves  with  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  in  1738  and  thereafter,  so  they  are 
still  forbidden,  and  on  practically  the  same  grounds. 
It  is  even  possible  to  allege  additional  reasons  peculiar 
to  our  age.  Nevertheless,  in  a country  like  the  United 
States,  and  possibly  in  several  other  countries,  Cath- 
olic priests  and  laymen  often  number  Freemasons 
among  their  friends,  and  in  certain  places  Catholic  so- 
cieties and  Masonic  Lodges  have  fraternized  to  some 
extent.  It  is  also  true  that  hundreds  of  Masons  have 
not  the  slightest  feeling  of  bitterness  or  antagonism 
towards  the  Catholic  Church,  and  will  assure  you  in 
all  honesty  that  they  have  never  seen  or  heard  any- 
thing in  their  Lodge  against  the  Catholic  religion  or 
any  other  religion,  and  hence  many  find  it  hard  to 
understand  why  the  Church  forbids  Catholics  to  be- 
come Masons. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  other  Christian  churches 
also  object  to  Masonry.  In  fact  up  to  sixty  years  ago 
most  of  them  did.  Even  at  the  present  day  “between 
orthodox  Lutheranism  and  the  large  rationalistic  sec- 
tion of  Germanic  Masonry  the  mutual  antipathy  is 
strong,  not  to  say  bitter,  as  represented,  for  instance, 
by  the  radical  ‘Humanitarian’  Grand  Lodges  and  the 
aggressive  Verein  deutscher  Freimauer.”8 

o^ooper,  “Freemasonry,  State  and  Church.”  The  Ecclesiastical  Re- 
view. July,  1917,  p.  60. 


— 2 — 


I. 


Masonry  and  Religion 

One  should  bear  in  mind  that  large  numbers  of 
“lodge^members,”  especially  in  English-speaking 
countries,  have  not  the  slightest  interest  in  the 
philosophy  of  Masonry,  and  perhaps  have  never  read 
the  works  of  prominent  members  of  the  fraternity 
who  profess  to  interpret  true  Masonic  ideas  and 
ideals.  But  the  Catholic  Church  and  every  other  non- 
Masonic  organization  or  individual  can  fairly  judge 
Freemasonry  only  by  its  “Constitutions,”  by  its  official 
magazines,  and  by  the  writings  of  Masons  who  stand 
high  in  the  ranks  of  their  brethren.  On  the  evidence 
of  this  testimony  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that 
Masonry  promotes  religious  indifferentism.  Now  in- 
differentism  is  the  greatest  enemy  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and,  indeed,  of  every  Christian  Church;  for 
if  it  makes  no  difference  what  a man  believes,  why 
believe  anything?  If  it  make  no  difference  to  what 
Church  a man  belongs,  why  belong  to  any? 

The  first  article  of  the  “Old  Charges”  incorporated 
in  the  “Constitutions”  (text  of  1738, — the  very  year 
of  Pope  Clement’s  condemnation),  shows  this  tend- 
ency. It  states:  “In  ancient  times  the  Christian  Ma- 
sons were  charged  to  comply  with  the  Christian  us- 
ages of  each  country  where  they  traveled  or  worked: 
but  Masonry  being  found  in  all  nations,  even  of  di- 
verse religions,  they  are  now  generally  charged  to  ad- 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


here  to  that  religion  in  which  all  men  agree.”  Is 
there  any  religion  in  which  all  men  agree? 

In  the  same  “Charge”  the  Brothers  are  urged  “to 
be  good  men  and  true,  men  of  honor  and  honesty,  by 
whatever  names,  religions,  or  persuasions  they  may 
be  distinguished,  for  they  all  agree  in  the  three  great 
articles  of  Noah,  enough  to  preserve  the  cement  of 
the  lodge.”  The  articles  of  Noah  refer  to  a time  not 
only  pre-Christian  but  pre-Mosaic,  to  that  time  in  the 
history  of  the  human  race  when  it  was  undivided 
either  racially  or  religiously.  The  “three  articles” 
may  mean  “the  duties  towards  God,  the  neighbor  and 
himself,”  or  may  refer  to  “brotherly  love,  relief,  and 
truth.”4  Here  is  the  very  essence  of  indifference  to  re- 
vealed Christian  dogmas.  How  can  the  Catholic 
Church,  teaching,  as  she  does,  that  she  is  the  “pillar 
and  the  ground  of  the  truth”  given  to  the  world  by 
Jesus  Christ,  permit  her  children  to  belong  to  a so- 
ciety whose  official  pronouncements  undermine  the 
very  foundation  of  that  truth? 

Moreover,  it  is  unquestionable  that  in  some  parts 
of  the  world,  Masonry  has  displayed  a marked  hos- 
tility to  the  Catholic  Church.  Here  we  must  note  a 
distinction  between  Latin  countries  and  what,  for 
convenience,  we  may  call  Anglo-Saxon  countries.  In 
Portugal,  for  example,  a republic  was  established  in 
1910  largely  by  Masons.  Living  under  a successful 
republican  form  of  government  ourselves,  we  may 
consider  that  was  a worthy  and  patriotic  achieve- 
ment. But  note  some  of  the  articles  in  the  Constitu- 
tion drawn  up  for  the  new  republic  under  Masonic  in- 

*Catholic  Encyclopedia , ix.,  p.  773. 

— 4 — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


fluence  as  competent  authorities  both  Masonic  and 
n on-Masonic  agree.5 

“Ministers  of  religion  shall  have  no  part  in  the 
parochial  lay  corporations  or  associations  in  charge 
of  temporal  affairs.  A minister  of  religion  who  criti- 
cizes or  attacks  any  of  the  acts  of  a public  authority 
or  the  form  of  government  or  the  laws  of  the  Re- 
public or  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  present  law  will 
be  punishable  by  law.  Church  property  shall  belong 
to  the  State,  but  shall  be  loaned  to  the  Church.  The 
wearing  of  the  clerical  habit  outside  of  the  churches 
and  ceremonies  is  prohibited.  It  is  also  prohibited 
to  publish  in  any  way  by  word  or  deed,  any  bulls,  de- 
crees, or  communications  from  the  Roman  Curia,  or 
prelates,  or  others,  without  explicit  permission  from 
the  civil  authorities.  The  State  will  have  charge  of 
naming  and  approving  the  professors  in  ecclesiastical 
seminaries  for  the  training  of  priests  and  will  de- 
termine the  text-books  and  courses  of  study  therein. 
No  Jesuits  or  other  monastic  orders  or  religious  con- 
gregations shall  be  admitted  into  Portuguese  terri- 
tory. All  Jesuits,  whether  aliens,  naturalized  citi- 
zens, or  natives,  are  expelled,  and  all  their  real  or 
personal  property  is  confiscated.  As  for  the  members 
of  other  religious  orders,  if  they  are  aliens  or  nat- 
uralized citizens,  they  are  likewise  to  be  expelled, 
and  if  they  are  natives,  they  must  return  to  secular 
life,  or  at  least  may  not  live  in  community,  and  shall 
not  be  allowed  to  exercise  the  teaching  profession  or 
intervene  in  any  way  in  education.9’6 

5The  Ecclesiastical  Review , art.  “Freemasonry*  State,  and 
Church,**  July,  1917,  pp.  48,  49,  by  Rev.  John  M.  Cooper. 

eCooDer,  op.  cit. , pp.  63,  64. 

— 5 — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


What  has  been  done  during  this  year,  1926,  in 
Mexico,  seems  to  follow  quite  literally  along  the  lines 
of  the  Portuguese  Constitution  of  1910.  “The  Mexi- 
can Constitution  of  1857  was  largely  the  work  of 
Masons,  while  the  more  recent  Constitution  promul- 
gated February  5,  1917,  apparently  with  Masonic  ap- 
proval and  cooperation,  is  in  its  politico-religious 
sections  almost  identical  with  the  Portuguese — only 
more  so!”7  The  laws  of  Calles  in  1926,  go  even  be- 
yond the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1917. 

The  story  of  Masonry  in  France  is  well  known. 
“In  1893  the  Convention  or  general  meeting  declared 
that  none  were  eligible  for  the  Council  of  the  Order — 
which  serves  as  its  Executive — unless  they  had 
pledged  themselves  to  abstain  from  all  religious  rites, 
themselves  and  their  dependents.  And  it  has  been 
repeatedly  asserted,  as  by  Mayoux  and  others,  that  no 
orthodox  believer,  Catholic,  Protestant,  or  Jew,  could 
be  a sincere  Freemason  in  France.”8  They  were  not 
content  with  ruling  religion  out  of  their  own  lives, 
they  strove  to  penalize  those  who  practised  the  Cath- 
olic religion.  Witness  the  scandals  in  the  army  un- 
covered early  in  the  present  century;  the  infamous 
“index  slips”  of  the  officers  kept  by  the  “Grand 
Lodge,”  in  which  a man’s  “qualifications”  for  ad- 
vancement were  listed.  Did  he  go  to  Mass,  or  allow 
his  wife  and  children  to  go?  Did  he  send  his  children 
to  a Catholic  school,  or  did  he  encourage  his  soldiers 
to  go  to  church?  No  matter  what  his  merits  as  a 
soldier,  if  he  was  guilty  of  these  “crimes”  he  was 

7Cooper,  op.  cit. 

sVery  Rev.  Canon  William  Barry,  D.D.,  National  Review  (Eng- 
lish), “Freemasons  in  France,”  July,  1905. 

— 6 — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


kept  in  the  least  favorable  quarters  or  dispatched  to 
Central  Africa;  other  officers,  favorably  listed  in  the 
“fiches”  (index  slips),  passed  over  his  head  to  higher 
rank,  but  he  could  secure  no  promotion.  This  con- 
spiracy went  on  for  four  years,  from  1901  to  1904;  over 
18,000  officers  were  denounced  by  the  ‘‘Grand  Ori- 
ent;” the  evidence  for  all  this  has  been  published  with 
photographed  copies  of  the  “charges.”9 

But  if  this  type  of  anti-Catholic  bigotry  is  con- 
fined to  Latin  countries,  why  object  to  Masonry  here 
in  the  United  States?  Is  it  not  unfair  to  hold  Amer- 
ican Masons  responsible  for  what  is  said  and  done 
by  European  or  Mexican  Masons? 

Of  course  it  would  be,  but  we  do  not  hold  them 
responsible.  Nevertheless,  they  belong  to  the  same 
organization.  It  is  true  that  in  the  past,  Lodges  in 
England  and  in  this  country  have  repudiated  the 
philosophy  of  their  brethren  in  France,  and  have 
condemned  their  atheism  and  irreligion.  But  there 
is  a decided  drift  the  other  way  at  least  among  the 
Masons  of  the  Scottish  Rite  in  this  country.  In  1917 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  adopted  resolutions  on 
this  point:  “Whereas,”  they  said,  “it  is  preeminently 
desirable  that  the  ‘Universality  of  Freemasonry,*  no 
less  than  the  ‘Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brother- 
hood of  Man,*  shall  be  something  more  than  an 
empty  phrase,  . . . Now,  therefore,  be  it  resolved,  that 
a special  committee  of  five  members  of  this  Grand 
Lodge  be  appointed  by  the  Grand  Master  to  report 
at  the  next  annual  communication  some  plan  where- 
by, if  possible,  the  breach  between  French  and 

9Barry,  op.  cit. 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


Anglo-Saxon  Masonry  may  be  healed  without  the 
sacrifice  on  either  side  of  any  essential  principle  or 
matter  of  conscience;  and  be  it  further  resolved,  that 
any  inhibition  upon  the  right  of  visitation  heretofore 
imposed  by  this  Grand  Lodge  be,  and  the  same  hereby 
is,  modified  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  allow 
and  permit  our  brethren  to  hold  Masonic  intercourse 
with  the  Masons  of  France,  Belgium  and  Italy,  and 
to  visit  any  of  the  lodges.”10 

The  official  magazine  of  the  Thirty-third  Degree, 
Scottish  Rite,  Southern  Juridiction,  entitled  The 
New  Age  and  published  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  com- 
menting on  these  resolutions  in  November,  1917, 
said : “We  have  never  been  able  to  get  out  of  our  mind 
the  idea  that  Freemasonry  in  this  country  has  been 
too  quick  to  credit  the  assertions  of  the  Jesuits  (!), 
and  others  of  the  Roman  Hierarchy,  and  too  slow  to 
listen  to  any  explanations  or  reasons  offered  by  Latin 
Masons  concerning  the  matters  in  dispute  between 
them  and  our  own  brethren.  And,  in  this  world 
crisis  that  has  come  upon  us,  it  seems  to  us  that  it 
behooves  us  all  to  forget  our  differences,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  to  allow  us  to  get  the  whole  of  Freemasonry 
together  and  act  together  intelligently  and  harmoni- 
ously for  the  good  of  the  whole  world.”11  Incidentally 
the  Grand  Lodges  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  Texas, 
Kentucky  and  Georgia,  have  also  endorsed  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France.  It  is  constantly  maintained  by 
Masonic  authorities  that  Masonry  is  one,  not  in  rite 
or  in  government,  but  “the  doctrine  of  Freemasonry 

loQuoted  in  Our  Sunday  Visitor , April  29,  1923. 

11  Ibid. 

— 8 — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


is  everywhere  the  same.  It  is  the  body  which  is  un- 
changeable— remaining  always  the  same.  The 
science  and  philosophy,  the  symbolism  and  the  re- 
ligion of  Freemasonry  continue,  and  will  continue,  to 
be  the  same,  wherever  true  Masonry  is  practised.”12 

Unfortunately,  it  is  likewise  true  that  even  in  the 
writings  of  American  Masons,  and  in  such  Masonic 
magazines  as  The  New  Age , referred  to  above,  and  The 
American  Freemason , for  Blue  Lodge  members,  we 
find  ample  evidence  of  antagonism  to  Catholic  Chris- 
tianity. Particularly  is  this  true  of  the  Scottish  Rite. 
This  branch  of  American  Freemasonry  admitted  re- 
sponsibility for  sponsoring  the  anti-parochial  school 
bill  in  Oregon  in  1922.  Its  paper.  The  New  Age , con- 
stantly publishes  vicious  diatribes  against  the  Cath- 
olic Church. 

In  1881  appeared  the  well-known  book  of  Al- 
bert Pike,  “Morals  and  Dogma  of  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  Pre- 
pared for  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Thirty-third 
Degree  for  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and  Published  by  its  Authority.”  “An  Ency- 
clopedia of  Freemasonry  and  its  Kindred  Sciences: 
Comprising  the  Whole  Range  of  Arts,  Sciences  and 
Literature  as  Connected  with  the  Institution,”  ap- 
peared in  Philadelphia  in  1906,  and  was  the  work  of 
Albert  G.  Mackey,  M.D.  Dr.  Mackey  is  also  the  au- 
thor of  “The  Symbolism  of  Freemasonry:  Illustrating 
and  Explaining  Its  Science  and  Philosophy,  Its  Leg- 
ends, Myths,  and  Symbols.”  All  three  of  these  books 
contain  explanations  of  the  Nature  of  God,  the  his- 

i2Mackey,  Encyclopedia  of  Freemasonry , p.  650. 

— 9 — — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


toric  truth  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  of  revered 
symbols  like  the  Cross  and  the  letters  I.  N.  R.  I.  that 
must  shock  the  religious  sensibilities  of  believing 
Christians.13 

The  “true”  meaning  of  Masonic  symbols  is  not 
the  one  usually  assigned  by  Christian  believers,  but 
rather  is  to  be  found  in  the  pagan  mysteries,  or  in 
pre-Christian  religions.  (See  quotations  given  by 
Preuss  on  this  subject,  “American  Freemasonry,” 
pages  45-52.)  Furthermore,  when  we  find  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Gospels  and  the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ 
treated  as  they  are  by  representative  Masons,  it  must 
also  be  clear  to  anyone  that  when  men  say  there  is 
nothing  offensive  to  Catholicity  in  Masonry,  they 
either  do  not  know  the  Catholic  Church,  or  they  do 
not  know  Masonry.  Albert  Pike  writes  as  follows: 

“Jerusalem  . . . had  at  length  in  its  turn  lost  the 
Holy  Word,  when  a Prophet,  announced  to  the  Magi 
by  the  consecrated  star  of  Initiation  (note  the  Ma- 
sonic interpretation),  came  to  rend  asunder  the  worn 
veil  of  the  Temple,  in  order  to  give  to  the  Church  a 
new  tissue  of  legends  and  symbols  that  still  and  ever 
conceals  from  the  profane  and  ever  preserves  to  the 
elect,  the  same  truths.”14  The  Elect,  of  course,  are 
Masons;  the  truth  of  the  Gospels  hidden  in  its  “leg- 
ends and  symbols”  cannot  be  perceived  by  the  “pro- 
fane,” i.  e.,  those  who  are  not  Masons. 

“This  is  the  New  Daw,  the  Word  for  which  the 
world  had  waited  and  pined  so  long;  and  every  true 

i3Mackey,  “Symbolism,”  pp.  187-189;  Encyclopedia , p.  390;  Pike, 
Morals  and  Dogma , pp.  574,  757,  771;  on  the  nature  of  God. 

14 Morals  and  Dogma , p.  208. 


— 10  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


Knight  of  the  Rose  (the  Rose  Croix  degree),  will 
revere  the  memory  of  Him  Who  taught  it,  and  look 
indulgently  on  those  who  assign  to  Him  a character 
far  above  His  own  conceptions  or  belief,  even  to  the 
extent  of  deeming  Him  divine.”15  The  very  corner- 
stone of  Orthodox  Christianity,  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant, is  the  Divinity  of  Christ.  What  fellowship 
can  we  hold  with  those  who  look  upon  us  “indul- 
gently” for  this  belief  which  is  an  essential  part  of 
our  Christian  faith?  But  it  is  of  the  very  nature  of 
Freemasonry  to  be  “broad”  in  its  religious  philos- 
ophy. “Masonry  propagates  no  creed,”  says  the  same 
author,  “except  its  own  most  simple  and  sublime  one 
taught  by  Nature  and  Reason.  There  has  never  been 
a false  religion  in  the  world . The  permanent  one 
universal  revelation  is  written  in  visible  Nature  and 
explained  by  the  reason  and  is  completed  by  the  wise 
analogies  of  faith.  There  is  but  one  true  religion, 
one  dogma,  one  legitimate  belief.”16 

Another  short  paragraph  from  Morals  and  Dogma 
is  a sort  of  commentary  on  this  amazing  statement 
that  “there  has  never  been  a false  religion  in  the 
world.”  “Catholicism,”  says  Albert  Pike,  “was  a vi- 
tal truth  in  its  earliest  ages,  but  it  became  obsolete, 
and  Protestantism  arose,  flourished,  and  deteriorated. 
The  doctrines  of  Zoroaster  were  the  best  which  the 
ancient  Persians  were  fitted  to  receive;  those  of  Con- 
fucius were  fitted  for  the  Chinese;  those  of  Mo- 
hammed for  the  idolatrous  Arabs  of  his  age.  Each 

is Ibid.  p.  310. 

lePike,  The  Inner  Sanctuary , i.,  271;  quoted  in  Catholic  Encyclo- 
pediaix.,  779,  780. 


— 1!  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


was  Truth  for  the  time . Each  was  a Gospel  preached 
by  a Reformer;  and  if  any  men  are  so  little  fortunate 
as  to  remain  content  therewith,  when  others  have  at- 
tained a higher  truth” — of  course,  this  higher  truth 
is  Masonry — “it  is  their  misfortune  and  not  their 
fault.  They  are  to  be  pitied  for  it  and  not  perse- 
cuted.”17 

This  is  the  idea  stated  over  and  over  again  by 
representative  Masonic  writers,  not  only  in  Italy, 
France  and  Mexico,  but  in  these  United  States.  “Ma- 
sonry is  The  Truth.”  You  may  be  a Christian,  a 
Hindu,  a Jew,  a Mohammedan, — any  religion  is 
“true,”  when  interpreted  in  terms  of  Freemasonry. 
Perhaps  we  can  see  now  why  Pope  Clement  XII.  ac- 
cused the  fraternity  of  having  an  unsectarian,  nat- 
uralistic character.  A Catholic  of  the  twentieth 
century  cannot  agree  (and  remain  a Catholic),  that 
the  truth  of  his  religion  became  “obsolete”  in  the 
fourth  or  fifth  century.  A Protestant,  if  he  is  logical, 
should  not  remain  a Protestant,  if  Protestantism  has 
“deteriorated.” 

The  question  whether  or  not  Masonry  is  a religion 
is  much  disputed  by  Masons  themselves.  We  have 
seen  at  any  rate,  that  Masonic  literature  has  decided 
views  on  religion,  and  pretends  to  interpret  religion. 
Surely  no  Catholic  will  have  his  religion  interpreted 
for  him  except  by  those  whom  he  believes  are  divinely 
appointed  to  do  so.  We  believe  that  our  Church  has 
been  founded  by  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  that 
He  delegated  His  teaching  authority  to  a group  of 
men  who  speak  in  His  Name  with  infallible  certainty. 

i7Page  38,  quoted  by  Preuss,  op.  cit.t  p.  249. 

— 12  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


This  much  we  are  sure  of : that  Masonry  has  the 
outward  semblance  of  a religion;  and  that  it  has  an 
elaborate  ritual  in  large  part  couched  in  religious 
terms.  We  know,  too,  that  for  hundreds  of  men, 
Masonry  is  the  only  religion  they  practise;  they  say 
so:  “Masonry  is  religion  enough  for  us.” 

Some  little  light  is  thrown  on  this  phase  of  the 
subject  by  a case  brought  before  the  Court  of  Appeals 
of  New  York,  in  1905.  Robert  Kopp,  one  time  Master 
of  the  Lodge  of  Strict  Observance,  No.  94,  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  fraternity  for  an  insulting  letter  he 
wrote  to  the  Grand  Master  of  the  State.  For  six  years 
he  fought  to  be  reinstated,  and  finally  the  case  came 
to  the  Court  of  Appeals.  Elburt  Crandall,  the  lawyer 
for  the  Grand  Lodge,  protested  the  right  of  the  court 
to  interfere.  He  said : “The  right  to  membership  in 
the  Masonic  fraternity  is  very  much  like  the  right  to 
membership  in  a church.  Each  requires  a candidate 
for  admission  to  subscribe  to  certain  articles  of  re- 
ligious belief,  as  an  essential  prerequisite  to  member- 
ship. The  precepts  contained  in  ‘The  Landmarks  and 
the  Charges  of  a Freemason’  formulate  a creed  so 
thoroughly  religious  in  character,  that  it  may  well 
be  compared  with  the  formally  expressed  doctrines 
of  many  a denominational  church.  That  the  right  of 
membership  is  not  a right  of  which  a civil  court  will 
take  cognizance  has  been  frequently  adjudicated. 
The  civil  courts  cannot  decide  who  ought  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  nor  whether  the  excommunicated 
have  been,  justly  or  unjustly,  cut  off  from  the  body 
of  the  church.”18 

i8Kopp  vs.  White,  30  Civil  Procedure  Reports,  352. 

— 13  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


If  it  is  true  that  Masonry  has  a creed  “so  thor- 
oughly religious  in  character  that  it  may  well  be  com- 
pared with  the  formally  expressed  doctrines  of  many 
a denominational  church,”  then  there  is  precisely  the 
same  reason  why  a Catholic  may  not  be  a Mason,  as 
there  is  that  a Catholic  may  not  be  a Lutheran  or  a 
Baptist, — if  he  wishes  to  remain  a Catholic. 

It  seems  clear,  therefore,  that  the  position  of  the 
Catholic  Church  on  the  question  of  Freemasonry  is 
quite  justified  on  the  religious  issue  alone.  What- 
ever may  be  the  views  of  individual  Masons,  even 
hundreds  of  them,  however  friendly  whole  groups  of 
them  may  be  to  the  Church,  Freemasonry,  as  a So- 
ciety, as  a System,  is  antagonistic  to  the  first  princi- 
ples of  the  Church.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  offi- 
cial declarations  of  the  Lodges,  and  the  publications 
of  representative  Masons. 


— 14  - — 


II. 


The  Masonic  Oath. 

The  second  reason  given  by  Pope  Clement  XII.  for 
his  condemnation  of  Masonry  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury was  the  inscrutable  secrecy  and  the  oaths  bind- 
ing to  this  secrecy  practised  in  the  Fraternity.  The 
oath  of  secrecy  “still  remains  an  integral  part  of  the 
system  of  Freemasonry;  indeed,  it  is  renewed  in 
varying  forms  in  the  initiation  ceremony  of  each 
successive  degree.  Through  Clement  XII. ’s  Constitu- 
tion and  the  Bulls  of  many  subsequent  Pontiffs  the 
Church  pronounces  such  an  oath  to  be  immoral  in 
principle.  It  is  imposed  by  an  authority  which  has 
no  adequate  sanction,  differing  in  that  respect  from 
the  oath  exacted,  for  example,  by  a magistrate,  a 
judge,  or  an  ecclesiastical  superior  who  are  in  their 
varying  degrees  the  representatives  of  the  common- 
wealth or  of  God.”19 

There  are  many  societies  which  have  secrets,  and 
which  the  Church  does  not  condemn.  College  fra- 
ternities have  secrets.  The  Knights  of  Columbus 
have  secrets.  It  is  the  nature  of  the  oath  of  secrecy 
and  the  claim  that  it  admits  of  no  exception  which 
make  the  Masonic  oath  objectionable.  The  follow- 
ing oath  is  taken  from  the  manual  of  the  English 
lodges:  “I  (name),  in  the  presence  of  the  Great 

Architect  of  the  Universe — do  hereby  and  hereon 

i9Rev.  Herbert  Thurston,  S.J.,  Freemasonry , p.  7,  C.  T.  S.  Pub- 
lication. 


-—15  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


most  solemnly  and  sincerely  swear  that  I will  always 
hale  (z.  e.,  keep  secret),  conceal,  and  never  reveal  any 
part  or  parts,  point  or  points,  of  the  secrets  and  mys- 
teries of  or  belonging  to  Masons;  what  have  been, 
shall  now,  or  may  hereafter  be  communicated  to 
me, — on  no  less  a penalty,  on  the  violation  of  any  of 
them,  than  to  have  my  throat  cut  across,  my  tongue 
torn  out  by  the  root.  So  help  me  God!”20 

Three  fundamental  objections  may  be  made  to 
an  oath  of  this  kind:  (a)  Masonry  has  no  right  to  im- 
pose it;  (b)  the  candidate  binds  himself  to  secrecy 
as  regards  things  not  yet  made  known  to  him;  (c)  no 
one  has  the  lawful  right  to  impose  the  sentence  for 
breaking  the  oath. 

The  principles  of  Catholic  teaching  about  oaths 
are  very  simple.  There  is  a Command  of  God  that 
we  must  not  take  His  Holy  Name  in  vain,  and  there- 
fore the  Church  insists  that  certain  conditions  must 
be  fulfilled  before  it  is  licit  to  take  an  oath.  The  first 
is,  that  we  must  give  careful  consideration  to  the 
necessity  and  utility  of  the  oath,  for  to  swear  with- 
out a sufficient  reason  is  obviously  a “vain”  use 
of  God’s  Name.  Then  we  must  be  sure  of  the 
truth  of  what  we  say;  and,  finally,  if  we  promise 
something  under  oath,  we  must  be  sure  we  may  law- 
fully do  the  thing  promised. 

The  Masonic  oath  violates  all  of  these  prin- 
ciples. There  is  no  necessity  for  the  oath,  for, 
“to  look  at  the  matter  sensibly,”  says  Dr.  Cooper, 
“what  secrets  of  importance,  after  all,  could  (high- 

20Quoted  by  Rev.  C.  Coppens,  S.J.,  “The  Laws  of  the  Church  with 
Regard  to  Secret  Societies,**  in  American  Catholic  Quarterly  Review, 
v.,  245. 


— 16  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


degree)  Masonry  possess  in  this  day  of  education 
and  culture?  Philosophical  or  scientific  secrets? 
No  historian  of  philosophy  or  of  science  could 
easily  be  persuaded  of  this.  Secret  practical  aims? 
But,  as  I shall  try  to  make  clear,  these  aims 
are  an  open  hook  to  anyone  with  sufficient  library 
facilities  who  cares  to  take  the  time  to  investigate.”21 
If  there  is  nothing  to  conceal,  why  conceal  it?  Is  the 
whole  thing  merely  a grotesque  jest  to  impress  the 
candidate  with  an  empty  solemnity?  Is  it  merely 
play-acting  when  he  generously  offers  to  have  his 
throat  cut  and  his  tongue  torn  out  if  he  breaks  the 
oath?  Suppose  he  does  break  it  who  is  to  execute 
the  self4mposed  sentence?  Has  Masonry  power  of 
life  and  death  over  its  members?  If  it  has  not,  then 
what  do  the  words  mean?  If  they  mean  nothing, 
then  it  is  wrong  to  use  God’s  Name  as  a seal  for  such 
an  oath.  If  they  are  to  be  taken  literally  then  Ma- 
sonry is  clearly  usurping  an  essential  prerogative  of 
the  State. 

Furthermore,  a man  cannot  be  sure  of  the  truth 
of  Masonic  teaching,  he  cannot  be  sure  he  will  be 
able  to  fulfill  Masonic  obligations,  when  he  does  not 
yet  know  that  teaching  or  those  obligations.  The 
oath  expressly  states  that  the  candidate  binds  him- 
self to  absolute  secrecy  even  as  to  things  which  “may 
hereafter  be  communicated”  to  him.  What  are  those 

2iThe  Ecclesiastical  Review , June,  1917,  p.  598;  “Masonry’s  Two 
Hundredth  Birthday.”  On  this  same  page  Dr.  Cooper  states  that 
he  has  had  access  “to  several  thousand  volumes  of  Masonic  liter- 
ature, the  majority  of  them  representing  Anglo-Saxon  Masonry.  This 
and  the  succeeding  articles  (July  and  August)  are  based  on  a study 
of  a selected  list  of  about  two  hundred  of  the  more  important  works 
and  articles.” 


— 17  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


things?  He  has  no  means  of  knowing  until  he  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  higher  degrees,  if  he  ever  is.  It  is  main- 
tained by  Albert  Pike  that  “the  Masonry  of  the  higher 
degrees  teaches  the  great  truths  of  intellectual 
science;  but  as  to  these,  even  as  to  the  rudiments  and 
first  principles,  Blue  Masonry  is  absolutely  dumb/’22 

It  is  true,  of  course,  as  Dr.  Cooper  says,  that  there 
can  be  no  secrets  of  any  importance  in  any  of  the 
degrees  of  Masonry.  “The  great  truths  of  intellectual 
science”  are  certainly  not  confined  to  Thirty-Third  de- 
gree Masons  in  this  twentieth  century.  It  is  ridic- 
ulous to  make  any  such  claim.  But  at  the  same  time 
it  is  unethical  and  immoral  to  deceive  candidates  as 
to  these  supposed  “great  truths”  when  they  are  under 
a terrible  oath  to  keep  secret  what  shall  be  revealed 
to  them  in  higher  degrees. 

That  this  is  done  we  know  from  the  same 
author:  “The  Blue  Degrees,”  says  Albert  Pike,  “are 
but  the  outer  court  or  portico  of  the  Temple.  Part 
of  the  symbols  are  displayed  there  to  the  Initiate, 
but  he  is  intentionally  misled  by  false  interpretations. 
It  is  not  intended  that  he  shall  understand  them; 
but  it  is  intended  that  he  shall  imagine  he  under- 
stands them.  Their  true  explication  is  reserved 
for  the  Adepts,  the  Princes  of  Masonry.  The  whole 
body  of  the  Royal  and  Sacerdotal  Art  was  hidden 
so  carefully,  centuries  since,  in  the  High  Degrees, 
as  that  it  is  even  yet  impossible  to  solve  many  of 
the  enigmas  which  they  contain.  It  is  well  enough 
for  the  mass  of  those  called  Masons  to  imagine 
that  all  is  contained  in  the  Blue  Degrees;  and 

22Quoted  in  Our  Sunday  Visitor , April  29,  1923. 

— 18  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


whoso  attempts  to  undeceive  them  will  labor  in 
vain,  and  without  any  true  reward  violate  his  obliga- 
tions as  an  Adept.  Masonry  is  the  veritable  Sphinx, 
buried  to  the  head  in  the  sands  heaped  round  it  by  the 

ages.”23 

Here  are  some  illuminating  statements  truly. 
“The  mass  of  those  called  Masons”  are  the  thou- 
sands of  lodge  members  in  the  lower  degrees  who 
have  no  interest  in  going  higher;  they  are  content 
that  they  have  been  admitted  to  the  Fraternity  and 
are  entitled  to  call  themselves  Masons.  But  “they  are 
intentionally  misled  by  false  interpretations,”  and 
therefore  know  not  what  their  brother  Masons  in 
higher  degrees  know,  and  these  latter  violate  their 
oath  if  they  try  to  enlighten  them.  Masons  are  very 
apt  to  become  indignant  if  we  tell  them  they  do  not 
know  what  Masonry  means.  The  greatest  Masonic 
authority  that  ever  lived  in  the  United  States  says 
this  is  so,  and  we  believe  he  knows  what  Masonry 
means. 

A personal  experience  may  give  point  to  this  state- 
ment. In  a friendly  discussion  with  a man  who  was 
past  master  of  a Lodge  in  New  York  and  who  had 
been  a member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State,  I 
called  attention  to  some  particularly  violent  attacks 
on  the  Catholic  Church  and  on  Religion  in  general, 
that  had  appeared  in  The  New  Age  and  in  other  Ma- 
sonic publications.  He  was  fair  enough  to  say  when 
he  had  verified  my  quotations,  that  what  he  read, — 
I quote  him  exactly, — “gave  me  quite  a shock,  for  I 

23 Morals  and  Dogma , p.  819,  quoted  by  Preuss,  pp.  12,  13. 

— 19  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


had  not  dreamed  that  any  Mason  or  body  of  Masons, 
or  any  publication  concerning  Masonry  in  the  United 
States  of  America  had  ever  been  guilty  of  the  senti- 
ments mentioned.”  He  had  been  of  the  opinion,  as 
so  many  others  are,  that  the  Catholic  Church  was 
narrow  because  she  would  not  permit  her  members 
to  become  Masons,  and  that  the  Church  entirely  mis- 
understood Masonry.  The  fact  is  that  it  is  Masons, 
many  hundreds  of  them,  who  misunderstand  Ma- 
sonry. 

One  other  statement  in  the  last  quotation  from 
Albert  Pike’s  book  calls  for  a word  of  comment.  He 
intimates  that  Freemasonry  is  very  ancient;  its 
secrets  were  hidden  “centuries  since,  in  the  High  De- 
grees.” That  is  pure  legend  without  a shred  of  his- 
iory  to  support  it.  Most  preposterous  and  extrava- 
gant claims  have  been  advanced  for  the  antiquity  of 
the  Fraternity.  “We  may  trace  this  very  institution,” 
says  Albert  G.  Mackey,  “with  an  older  but  not  dis- 
similar form,  in  the  Masonic  guilds  of  Europe;  in 
the  corporations  of  the  Stone-masons  of  Germany;  in 
the  traveling  Freemasons  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
connect  it  with  the  Colleges  of  Architects  of  Rome.”24 

It  is  a slight  strain  on  one’s  credulity  to  be  asked 
to  believe  that  the  Builders’  Guilds  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  which  erected  the  magnificent  Gothic  Cathe- 
drals of  Europe,  that  produced  the  Mystery  and 
Morality  Plays  to  give  expression  to  faith  in  God’s 
Revelation  and  their  love  for  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Saints,  that  these  same  Catholics  practised  symbolic 

24 Encyclopedia  of  Freemasonry , p.  297,  quoted  by  Preuss,  p.  347 


— 20  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


rites  which  we  are  told  have  their  truest  and  most 
authentic  interpretation  in  the  ancient  Pagan  Mys- 
teries. 

But  why  stop  at  the  Middle  Ages?  Other  Ma- 
sonic writers  claim  King  Solomon  as  their  “first 
Most  Excellent  Grand  Master!”25  and  there  are  still 
others  whose  theory  it  is  “that  the  principles  of  the 
Pure  or  Primitive  Freemasonry  were  preserved  in  the 
race  of  Seth!”26  What  is  termed  by  some  “the  reviv- 
al of  Masonry  in  the  eighteenth  century”  is  really 
the  beginning  of  speculative  Masonry,  the  interna- 
tional society,  that  we  are  familiar  with  in  our  day. 
Its  own  better  historians  of  the  last  fifty  years  admit 
Masonry  was  born  when  the  Grand  Lodge  was  es- 
tablished in  England,  June  24,  171 7. 27 


25 Ritualist,  P-  61,  quoted  by  Preuss,  p.  135. 

26 Encyclopedia,  p.  708,  quoted  by  Preuss,  p.  350. 
27Cooper,  op.  cit .,  June,  1917,  p.  591. 


— 21  — 


III. 

Masonry  and  the  State. 

The  last  reason  given  by  Pope  Clement  XII.  for 
his  condemnation  of  Freemasonry  was  the  danger 
which  such  societies  involve  for  the  security  and 
tranquillity  of  the  state.  The  Pope  was  by  no  means 
alone  in  seeing  this  danger.  Before  he  took  any  ac- 
tion against  the  organization  the  Protestant  Govern- 
ments of  Holland  (1735),  Sweden,  and  Geneva 
(1738),  had  all  taken  measures  to  prohibit  Masonry. 
These  were  followed  by  Zurich  (1740),  and  Berne 
(1745).  Events  have  proved  conclusively  that  much 
mischief  has  been  done  in  the  various  countries  of 
Europe  to  say  nothing  of  Mexico  and  South  America 
by  Masonic  plots  against  the  established  govern- 
ments. “It  was  in  the  great  meeting  of  the  Free- 
masons in  Frankfurt-on-Main,  three  years  before  the 
(French)  Revolution  began,  that  the  death  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  Gustavus  III.  of  Sweden  was  first 
planned.”28  In  later  revolutionary  movements  in 
France,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  even  as  recently 
as  the  Young  Turkish  revolt,  the  Lodges  took  an  ac- 
tive part,  as  their  own  members  testified  and  as  non- 
Masonic  historians  were  able  to  prove.29 

By  their  very  nature,  secret  societies  lend  them- 
selves to  plotting.  esDecially  when  they  have  a definite 
philosophy  as  Masonry  has.  We  have  already  re- 
ferred to  the  scandalous  injustice  perpetrated  by  the 
Grand  Orient  against  Catholic  officers  in  the  French 
Army.  Was  that  patriotism?  Was  it  seeking  the 
best  interests  of  their  country  to  prevent  capable  sol- 

28Webster,  The  French  Revolution , quoted  by  Thurston,  op.  cit.t 
p.  9. 

^Catholic  Encyclopedia , ix.,  781. 

- 22  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


diers  from  securing  positions  of  command  and  au- 
thority simply  because  they  were  not  Masons?30 

Professor  John  Robison,  a Mason  of  the  more 
moderate  English  type,  was  so  scandalized  by  what 
he  had  seen  and  heard  in  Continental  Masonic  Lodges 
that  he  wrote  a book  condemning  them,  entitled, 
Proofs  of  a Conspiracy  Against  All  the  Religions  and 
Governments  of  Europe , in  which  he  says:  “Not 

only  are  secret  societies  dangerous,  but  all  societies 
whose  object  is  mysterious.  The  whole  history  of 
man  is  a proof  of  this  position.  In  no  age  or  country 
has  there  ever  appeared  a mysterious  association 
which  did  not  in  time  become  a public  nuisance/’ 
And  again:  “In  every  quarter  of  Europe  where  Free- 
masonry has  been  established  the  Lodges  have  be- 
come hotbeds  of  public  mischief/’31 

Right  in  our  own  day  the  activities  of  Continental 
Masons  indicate  a spirit  that  is  a menace  to  the  stabil- 
ity of  European  nations  and  international  peace.  In 
a recent  article,  Rev.  Herbert  Thurston,  whom  we 
have  quoted  above,  says:  “To  anyone  who  will  take 
the  trouble  to  investigate  the  recent  activities  of  con- 
tinental Masonry,  even  only  so  far  as  they  are  re- 
corded in  Masonic  journals  and  the  published  pro- 
ceedings of  Conventions,  etc.,  the  fact  at  once  becomes 
plain  that  an  immense  effort  is  being  made  to  break 
down  national  barriers,  entirely  in  the  interest  of  a 
future  Universal  Republic  of  Masonry,  which  is  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  French  Revolution.  At 
the  banquet  celebrated  in  connection  with  the  Con- 

zoSupra , pp.  6,  7. 

siQuoted  by  Thurston,  pp.  8,  9. 

— 23  — 


MAY  CATHOLICS  BE  MASONS? 


vention  of  1923,  the  President  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Grand  Orient  proposed  a toast  which 
was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause:  ‘To  the 

French  Republic,  the  daughter  of  French  Masonry; 
to  the  Universal  Republic  of  tomorrow  the  daughter 
of  Universal  Masonry.’  In  view  of  this  consummation 
the  leading  spirits  of  the  Craft,  finding  a convenient 
stronghold  in  Switzerland,  have  strained  every  nerve 
to  bring  about  the  cordial  cooperation  of  the  Masons 
of  France,  Belgium,  Italy,  etc.,  with  those  of  Central 
Europe,  and  more  especially  to  break  through  the 
ban  decreed  against  the  Grand  Orient  by  their  breth- 
ren of  English  speech.  They  would  fain  make  the 
League  of  Nations  their  tool  in  realizing  the  project  of 
a godless  universal  republic;  though,  so  far,  they  have 
happily  met  with  scant  success  in  any  of  these  de- 
signs. Still  the  cry  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  is  a 
specious  one  and  the  danger  cannot  be  ignored.”32 
Perhaps,  after  all,  the  Popes  have  been  right. 
Even  so  wise  a diplomat  as  Pope  Leo  XIII.  in  his 
condemnation  of  Masonry  said  of  it,  that  “it  has 
succeeded  in  entering  all  classes  of  society,  and  forms 
an  invisible  and  irresponsible  state  existing  within 
the  legitimate  state.”  For  this  reason,  then,  as  well 
as  for  the  two  reasons  already  explained,  namely, 
that  Masonry  is  unsectarian  and  naturalistic  in  its 
religious  philosophy,  thus  inducing  religious  indif- 
ferentism;  and  because  its  oath  is  objectionable  from 
the  viewpoint  of  Catholic  teaching,  no  Catholic  may 
be  a Mason. 

32Thurston,  “The  Church's  International  Enemy,"  in  The  Month . 
November,  1926,  p.  394. 


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St.  Anthony  Shrtnf 
Franciscan  Fathers 
Arch  Street  .Boston 


